Considerations when restoring candlestick "Frankenfurbs"

[Sargeguy]

During the Great Depression and the subsequent World War many phones were constructed from recycled parts from a variety of eras.  It is quite common to find a Property of the American Bell Telephone Company cup with patent dates on a 151-AL from the 1930s.  These have been notched and painted black.  The perch may be a drawn perch that was once on a 20-AL, a 2 piece solid, or even a "Hershey's" kiss type.  A 151-AL may have a 144 receiver or a 706A, a 323 transmitter or a 635A "Bulldog", a #4 dial or #5, or an old #2.  What these parts all have in common is that they have been repainted.  And this layer is not baked on, it is just painted on.  It  usually has degraded to a matte or semi-gloss finish.  Some may have rubbed off and the older enamel japanned finish, or nickel, might be showing through.  This layer of paint is easily removed.  With some Citri-Strip and a toothbrush (and lots of paper towels) it comes right off.  What you have underneath is, quite often, a complete or nearly complete original paint finish.  This layer has been baked on and is very hard as a result.  It will no be harmed by a few minutes of Citri-strip.  Once I have wiped it off, I use some Mirka Mirlon scrubbing pads and Novus polish in combination.  Fine Steel wool will work but it is more abrasive and you need to be careful.  I use Novus #3 with the 320/red pads, Novus #2 with the 1200 and nothing with the 2500.  I then polish it with Novus #2 again and the polish with a cloth diaper.  If I find any parts that are really worn underneath the paint, I just re-paint them again, and give them a good bake to harden the enamel.

[tallguy58]

Can anything that was done by the phone company really be considered a "frankenfurb"?
Frankenphones, by definition, are really phones cobbled together with dis-similar parts by amateur "doctors" in an attempt to make something work.

I think if WE or NE or AECo modernized their equipment it should be considered authentic, hence their own dating of the upgrade.

[Sargeguy]

I just coined the phrase this afternoon, it means "phone made from parts of earlier phones by the Telco or manufacturer".  So yes, they can be called that.

[Sargeguy]

Another option for a re-paint is to leave the newer paint on and bake the finish yourself.  You could then polish it following the procedure described above.

[unbeldi]

Another option for a re-paint is to leave the newer paint on and bake the finish yourself.  You could then polish it following the procedure described above.

Have you actually tried this?  It would seem to me that baking needs to be done when the paint is fresh and still has solvent/base in it to evaporate. When the paint is fresh it can still form stronger bonds and adhesion with the substrate. Once it's dried up after decades I doubt it would do anything beneficial, only perhaps peel off easier perhaps.

[Sargeguy]

I did.  The paint seemed to polish better and didn't rub off as easily when i did so.  This is probably a crap-shoot, since the different types of paint, different conditions, the phone has been exposed to and other variables factor in.  The important thing is that you can still strip the layer if you don't like the results.

[unbeldi]

I did.  The paint seemed to polish better and didn't rub off as easily when i did so.  This is probably a crap-shoot, since the different types of paint, different conditions, the phone has been exposed to and other variables factor in.  The important thing is that you can still strip the layer if you don't like the results.

Interesting, perhaps the paint softens just a bit, and the surface rubs off easier a few molecular layers in the polishing.

[Sargeguy]

I tried baking another re-paint and the paint turned to dust!  Luckily there was a fairly intact finish beneath it.